Sarah Anderson’s “The Spinner’s Book of Yarn Design” is a beautiful and informative book. The cover photo of artfully displayed natural white handspun yarns tantalizes the reader to open the book and explore further. I have been a handspinner for over 30 years and rarely have I seen a book with clearer instructions. As a visual learner I particularly appreciated the step by step photos of the yarns in progress as well as the matching photo of the finished yarn. The book is layed in progressive sections, starting with a good introduction to the basics of handspinning. This section covers such topics as choosing and washing raw fleece, hand and drum carding, blending color, determining yarn twist, and using wool combs for worsted spinning. After the Basics chapter Ms. Anderson moves instructions for several individual type yarns. She covers Spinning Singles for Plying, Stand Alone Singles, Spiral Yarns, Opposing Plies, Boucles, Cable Yarns, Crepe Yarns and finally, Novelty Yarns. And, there is a wonderful bonus to this book. On the back inside cover an envelope is attached that contains 64 reference cards with photos for each yarn and technique covered in the book. These cards fit handily into your spinning take along bag or basket. They are great when questions arise in the field and it is inconvenient to carry a bulky book. This is a great text for both the beginner and advanced handspinner. I highly recommend “The Spinner’s Book of Yarn Designs.”

For the jazz collector! This EmArcy MG 26043 10-inch record is very rare and is in VERY GOOD MINUS condition. The vinyl has some small and superficial, scattered, hair-like markings. There are a couple